*Family effort to find Seth-4yr’s tennis shoe before school this morning. He has one silverish shoe that fits that he won’t wear. He has one blue shoe that is 3 sizes too small that he WILL wear because he likes shoes that are too small. He likes the way they feel. But yesterday he and Caden-6yr threw shoes at the living room ceiling to try to get down a blue sticky ‘hand’ thing, don’t ask, and one blue shoe disappeared. No idea what happened to the silver one, but it doesn’t matter. He won’t wear it.

*Bugged a guy at the gym (who works there) to figure out why all the treadmills I like close up shop and spit me off at the 60 minute mark. If I’m not paying attention – and we all know I’m never paying attention – I keep running and splat into the front bar thing while the conveyor belt slows and stops. He figured it out eventually and now I have to relocate to another brand of treadmill. Which is too bad. I like where my old one was because I could look at the mommy duck and itty bitty baby ducklings.

*Ethan-10yr gets in the car the same way every day. Mid-sentence, mid-drama, mid-everything. There is no ‘hi Mom.’ There’s just an instant Launch Into Whatever Is In His Head as if it hasn’t been 8 hours since we last saw one another. It starts the SECOND he opens the car door and knows I am within earshot. Today it was the high energy, frantic telling of something highly adventurous in a book he was reading. I LOVE it that he does this. It’s so alive. So ten year old boy-ish. So wonderful. I wonder what he’d do if I ever burst into his bedroom like that.

*Caden-6yr just came in and said Duke (the dog) just did sign language for “I’m hungry.” And Duke (the dog) might have, since he doesn’t bark or whine or communicate in other forms so I’m hardly surprised. It’s about time the labrador started signing.

*Have spent much time today sorting out technical difficulties with an online class. Still not sorted. But perhaps not my fault this time, so that’s something.

*Caden-6yr asked how old I turned. I told him. He took a step back and went, “WHOAH. Not! what! I! was! ex! pect! ing!” And isn’t he just so cute? Mmm, charming, that one.

*Seth-4yr is off with Mike, having dad-son time. Seth-4yr is wearing shoes that match but do not necessarily fit. Mike’s footwear is probably fine.

*The cat has just arrived to announce “I’m hungry” and unlike Duke (the dog), this animal has no problem effectively and loudly communicating whatever he wants.

*I told Ethan-10yr he had to sit on his bed and read for basically forever, because he forgot his math book and can’t do his homework and I won’t let him do anything with Legos or touch/view/operate anything ‘with a screen.’ But I said it nicely. Maybe I should burst into his bedroom mid-sentence, mid-drama, mid-mothering spiel about responsibility. He might not find it as darling as I think his version is. But I’m not really going for darling anyway. I’m going for mild shock value. It’s important to mix it up in the mothering department regularly, dontchathink?

Anyway. I should go. I have a child to shock into shape, two pieces of blue sticky hand to pry off the ceiling, shoes to find, and two animals with opposing communicative styles who are both claiming hunger.